Phil Pantuso

Phil Pantuso, age 88, passed away on Saturday, July 22, 2023, in Lubbock, Texas, surrounded by his children. Phil was born November 22, 1934, in San Antonio, Texas.

Phil was preceded in death by his eldest son Michael, his parents Nicolo and Rachel Pantuso, his sister Carmelina, and his brothers Joe, and Frank. We are confident that his family greeted him the moment he arrived in heaven; Frank was his hero and Phil missed him terribly. We are sure those wild Italians are all having a match of who can talk the loudest, wave their hands the fastest, and tell the best stories.

Phil was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas and is a first-generation Italian. It wasn’t until Phil was 6 years old that he learned how to speak English. Phil’s parents immigrated to the United States via Ellis Island from Italy. Prior to learning English, Phil’s primary language consisted of a mixture of Italian and Spanish. Phil’s fondest memory is growing up on E. Martin Street in San Antonio.

Phil joined the Naval reserves in 1952 and later transferred to the Air Force. Phil served in Korea between 1955-1956 and was extremely proud to serve his country. While Phil loved his Italian heritage, he was so proud of his country and enjoyed the time he served.

Phil’s first job was in San Antonio working for Mr. Bond, who owned the Anchor B Ranch. Phil was a true cowboy! Phil worked as a cowboy on the ranch and also did some welding. While at the Anchor B, Phil developed a love for horses. He passed that love of horses on to Mark and Lanie and the three of them owned multiple horses over the years and enjoyed riding.

While enlisted Phil was transferred to Walker Air Force Base. He met his beautiful wife Marjorie, and they married in 1958. Together they had three children, Michael, Mark, and Lanie.

Phil and Marjorie raised their family in Roswell where Phil began his career. Phil was a salesman by trade and in the 1980’s opened and managed Roadrunner TV and Appliance. Roadrunner brought the first satellite dish to town and Phil would televise heavy weight boxing matches from the parking lot of the Union Plaza shopping center. After the store closed Phil worked for TMC, then Nova Bus for many years. Because Phil loved to drive and talk, he had several side hustles over the years. Those included working at LaGrone and driving school and charter buses. Phil loved hauling the Roswell High and NMMI sports and cheerleading teams all over the state.

Those left to cherish Phil’s memory are his wife Marjorie, son Mark (Donna), daughter Lanie (Carey) along with grandsons Tyler (Holly), Joey (Katie), and Brandon Pantuso, Aidan Ruel Smith, nieces and nephews all over Texas and New Mexico and many cousins in San Antonio. For those of you that knew Phil, you know that he loved his family fiercely, especially those grandsons.

Aside from loving his family fiercely, Phil loved the NY Yankees. Phil was a die-hard Yankee fan and when the Yankees were playing, the world would stop for the game. Because of his love for the Yankees and baseball, in his younger years, Phil enjoyed coaching baseball for the Babe Ruth and Connie Mack baseball organizations.

Phil was a devoted Catholic and truly loved his catholic heritage and his church, St. Peter. Phil loved going to mass on Saturday nights with his daughter, Lanie. Phil especially loved his friend Father Charlie, whom he referred to as Padre.

A Rosary for Phil will be recited at 1:30 p.m. with a Funeral Mass celebrated immediately following at St. Peter Catholic Church, Saturday, August 5, 2023.